Trump insists he doesn’t want war with Iran

The president’s statement, made in a meeting on Wednesday in the Situation Room, was a message to his hawkish aides as a U.S. pressure campaign against Iran intensifies. Officials said he was firm in saying that he did not want a military clash and that he was confident Tehran “will want to talk soon.”

Iran dismissed any suggestion of a dialogue. “The escalation by the United States is unacceptable,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Thursday.

How Xi Jinping upended a trade deal

Late last month, officials in Beijing and Washington thought a trade deal was imminent. That was before Chinese negotiators sent the Americans a substantially rewritten draft agreement, prompting President Trump to accuse Beijing of reneging on settled terms.

President Xi Jinping of China apparently misjudged Mr. Trump’s willingness to accept a changed deal. And China’s leaders risk prolonging tensions by defending their decisions with combative rhetoric that could narrow the room for a compromise.

His gracious but firm air made him equally attractive to real estate developers, corporate chieftains and art museum boards.

His museum works culminated in the call to design the Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar in 2008, a challenge Mr. Pei accepted with relish. It’s among his most important works.

Philosophy: Mr. Pei maintained that he wanted not just to solve problems but also to produce “an architecture of ideas.” He worried, he added, “that ideas and professional practice do not intersect enough.”

An ‘adversity score’ for college applicants

The so-called adversity score was designed as a tool for colleges to gauge hardships that students have had to overcome — and their chances of future academic success. Critics say such approaches paper over an inherently flawed test.

The details: The rating will be calculated using 15 factors, including the crime rate and poverty level of a student’s neighborhood. It will not affect test scores, and will be reported only to college admissions officials.

The background: Colleges have raised concerns over whether the SAT, which is taken by about two million students a year, can be gamed by families who hire expensive consultants and tutors.

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A haven for female artists

It now highlights the work of more than 600 female and nonbinary artists — nine times the number of people in the Whitney Biennial that it is designed to run alongside. And, for the first time, it’s expanding to Los Angeles.

Chelsea Manning returns to jail: Ms. Manning, a former Army intelligence analyst who sent secret documents to WikiLeaks in 2010, had refused once again to answer questions before a grand jury. A federal judge ordered her held for 18 months or until she agreed to testify.

2020 race: Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York announced on Thursday — against his advisers’ counsel — that he would be running for president. He is the 23rd Democrat to enter the race.

Snapshot: Above,Thich Nhat Hanh receiving visitors in Hue, Vietnam, in March. After living in exile for more than five decades and suffering the effects of a major stroke, the Zen Buddhist monk, 92, has quietly returned to his home temple.

“Game of Thrones”: Our critic avoided the hit HBO franchise for eight years. Then he watched every episode — 70 hours — in five weeks.

No news quiz: It’s off this week, but will return next Friday.

Modern Love: In this week’s column, a college student on medical leave for compulsive behavior finds a kindred spirit in a fellow hoarder.

Late-night comedy: Jimmy Kimmel lampooned President Trump’s immigration plan. “Donald Trump doesn’t want to allow foreigners in based on family ties, even though foreigners literally make his family ties,” he said. “They are all made in China.”

What we’re reading: This book review in The Atlantic. “Laura Shapiro, a respected food historian and advocate of home cooking who believes cake mixes should be treated like controlled substances, discusses a shocking idea,” writes our national food correspondent, Kim Severson. “It might be time to jettison a long-held belief that the best way to counter the food industry is to actually cook meals from scratch.”

Smarter Living: There are easy ways to green your housecleaning.In the U.S., look for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Safer Choice label, and other countries may have similar signals of safe ingredients and sustainable production and packaging. Or make your own cleaners. A spray bottle of vinegar and water can take care of most of the house, and for the shower, mix baking soda, hydrogen peroxide and liquid soap. And biodegradable sponges can replace disposables.

The bicycle has become the most popular personal transport in the world. Estimates of the number of bikes in use around the globe run upward of two billion.

That’s it for this briefing. See you next time.

— Mike

Thank youTo Mark Josephson, Eleanor Stanford and Kenneth R. Rosen for the break from the news. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com.

P.S.• We’re listening to “The Daily.” Today’s episode is on Alabama’s abortion law.• Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: “___ is a gift, that’s why it is called the present” (saying) (5 letters). You can find all our puzzles here. • NYT Parenting, a new site from The New York Times, has a free newsletter that brings its evidence-based guidance and support for parents and prospective parents to your inbox.